MADISON — Students at Madison Area Memorial High School were evacuated Monday afternoon after school officials discovered the word “bomb” had been etched into a dispenser in a bathroom.

Somerset Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Ross said police were called shortly before 1 p.m. Monday after the etching — which also had been highlighted with a marker — was discovered in the bathroom. Ross said the school was evacuated, and authorities requested bomb sniffing dogs from the state police.

State police sent two dogs, but no bomb was discovered during a search. The building was deemed safe around 3 p.m.

Ross said the investigation remains open. As there are no cameras in the bathroom, they do not have a suspect to charge.

“It’s going to be an open investigation until we get someone to tell us who did it,” he said.

Ross said the scare was a “massive waste of resources” for police, the Fire Department and the students, as it was a “huge inconvenience” for the students to have to sit on a bus and wait for the school to be searched.

Colin Ellis — 861-9253

cellis@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @colinoellis